Izania Downie: Table Tennis NZ CEO previews the New Zealand Senior & Junior Open Championships

The New Zealand Senior & Junior Open Championships, organised by Table Tennis New Zealand, is a national event that has been held annually since 1934, attracting over 300 players from across the country. 

The championship brings together players from all over New Zealand to compete for National titles in a range of events.  

Table Tennis NZ CEO Izania Downie joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to preview the event. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldegrave from News talksb A twenty.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Five on a Saturday morning time for a toucher table tennis.
We're joined by the CEO of table Tennis in zed
Zania Downey. Welcome to the program. So tell us all
about this event.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
It is our national Senior and Junior Open Championships happening
down in Nelson. So we're kicking off on Saturday and
it goes for a week to the thirteenth at Saxton Stadium.
We are kicking off with a opening ceremony at eight
thirty with the mayor and the local e week together
with our host Association President Anna kink and board member

(00:45):
Michelle McCarthy. And I believe after they've done some lovely
celebrations there, they're going to have a little hat over
the table with the mayor, so that should be fun.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
How big that goes for a long time a week
is not messing around how many divisions, how many people?
Just how big is this event a Zania?

Speaker 3 (01:04):
It is behemous. It's three hundred over three hundred participants
from across New Zealand and six are flying in from
New Caledonia. So it's an open which means it is
open to other countries and we do often welcome visitors
and we have six coming in which is great. So
we have a variety of categories. They range from junior
to senior levels. We've actually got the youngest player is

(01:26):
seven years of age and our oldest player is eighty
six years of age. So it truly is something for
every age group, which is fantastic. There are forty six
events in total and they're both team and individual competitions
across the age groups.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
How does the seven year old look over the table?

Speaker 3 (01:43):
Do you know what? I wouldn't want to fight against
them actually because they are pretty scary. They are very
very fast, these kids, they're quite amazing.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
How big is the footprint of table tennis here in
r I mean this is a big event. It goes
for a week, there's a lot of participants, but when
you spread right across the manti, where are the strengths?
How big is this?

Speaker 3 (02:03):
So we have over two hundred and fifty thousand people
identify as playing table tennis across the country. With that,
there are obviously much smaller numbers in the competitive arena,
and this is a competitive championship, so there are a
lot of social players, a lot of casual players. We
have school groups and we have community groups. So I'm

(02:24):
not sure if you saw a couple of weeks ago
we kicked off a Parkinson's Ping Pong national championship. So
we have community groups that are targeted to help different
areas of the community with table tennis, and so we
have and we have our power community as well. So
that's all within these numbers. And obviously you will have

(02:45):
seen our Paralympian first and forty eight years Matthew Britts,
who just performed over in Paris recently.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
As only a Downs joined a CEO of table Tennis
New Zealand. Promote your sport for us. Why should people
play this game? Why should they get involved? And you
said between seven and say eighty three or eighty seven,
It plenty attracts a wide amount of people, a big range.
But why should people play this?

Speaker 3 (03:11):
Absolutely, Darcy. And the thing that's about table tennis, it's
a low entry to play. You can come in and
play anywhere. You just pick up a bat and start.
The great thing about it is it's actually the game
that is the best for your brain development. So not
only do you get a good workout, and it's an
all over body plus cardio workout, but it's actually the

(03:32):
space and the size and the decisions that you have
to make within that table. Hitting the ball at the
speed that you need to hit it at actually develops
your neural passways better than any other sport. And so
we've actually got a high academic level and a high
level of intelligence of people that are in the game
and that stay in the game, and so we've seen
that development across the brain, which is also why we're

(03:55):
working with neurodegenerative diseases, so people who have Parkinson's and
other such diseases can come and play table tennis and
find benefits across all of their health as well as
their brain development. And that's pretty exciting. I can say.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
I've been in this industry for over twenty years as Zarnie,
and that's the best pitch I've ever heard. I've never
heard anything be attached to your brain so directly, except
that it's a concuss of injuries, which we don't want.
This is a great thing to I actually had no
idea about those neuron pathways on your pathways that's incredible.

Speaker 3 (04:33):
Yeah, it's quite amazing. And we have a doctor of
Psychology and neuroscience doctor Live Funds from Otigo University. We're
working with her to put out some of the studies
that she has been working on for over twenty years
and also from across the world, not just her own,
but she's gathering that research because it is so important
for people to know that actually, if you want to
improve your overall health and well being in your mental

(04:55):
state and your brain ways, then actually it's kind of
you know, this is the easiest sport to come and
do and it's pretty simple. Anyone can do it. Come
and pick up a bat and have a go. So
we're really looking to that. I'm new in the role
of coming in May and this is what I'm looking
to bring in and promote and bring that story out
to the wider audience across New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (05:14):
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